Addie is autistic, she knows the kinds of things that can affect and make her feel uncomfortable: bright lights, lots of noise, even holding hands or being hugged can all be too much for her. Her sister, Keedie, is also autistic and the two share an unbreakable bond. Keedie is in university, she's been acting strange to Addie lately, something Addie can't quite figure out but she has a feeling something isn't right. Addie is obsessed with sharks, she loves taking books on them out from the library, she knows everything there is to know about them. When one of her friends decides that Addie should like dolphins instead, Addie tries to understand, she tries to become the person that the people around her want her to be but it's hard, she starts to think she's like a glove that doesn't fit anywhere. Her teacher is a walking nightmare, unsympathetic, mean and impatient with someone who needs understanding and love. Addie also has a deep sense of empathy and justice, so whens she discovers that witches were executed in her Scottish village centuries ago, she campaigns to have the local council erect a memorial for them. The townspeople are not impressed, their town is a good town, they don't want a memorial based on something terrible that happened. Addie is determined, though, she starts to feel like those witches, wrongly labelled, a misfit of sorts, someone who is always on the outside looking in. Addie's dream of getting a memorial raised encounters many roadblocks, and with her sister's increasingly withdrawn behaviour and mean classmates rearing their head, the tenuous hold that Addie has on her stability starts to crumble. I recommend A Kind Of Spark to anyone hoping to gain insight into the world of Autism, it's a powerful story with a lot of punch, heartbreaking and real. Addie's life pops off the page at a feverish pace, don't miss it! Great for ages 9+
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